Angel Beats!: The Rouge Angel
by Cflores008
Summary: An old man is lying in bed, his grandson next to him. After making amends and saying goodbye, he passes on. Waking up in a field, he discovers he's not where he expected to go. His body is young again, but his mind as sharp as ever. Now, he must found out the reason for his stay. No real allies are presented to him, except a girl who curiously reminds him of his youth.
1. Chapter 1: First steps

My grandson is sitting next to me in a chair, while I lay in bed.

"Everything has been sorted out, and I take control of the company tomorrow"

The stifled anguish in his voice is apparent, "And everyone is already lining up to look at your will"

I chuckle, the breath coming out of my lungs is wheezy, forced, it's almost painful to utter the following words, "I'm sure everything will be fine. You'll take the company far, and that's saying a lot."

"Do you have any regrets?

" I contemplate this, "No, I've made my peace with the lord. Begged forgiveness and all that bull-"

my words get caught up in a large and terrible cough, the salty and metallic taste of blood lingers on my tongue. In all honesty, I'm a little worried on what my final judgment will be, or, if there is a final judgment.

"I have my faith, everything will be just fine." I give a smile, trying my best to leave on a good note.

"You, Jason, are the smartest, most thoughtful, and sincere person in this family." He raises his smile, a tear trickling down his face,

"You always said I was just like you." "Yes, just like me, except with a better upbringing."

Both of Jason's eyes are turning bloodshot, tears coming down in torrents, "Any famous last words?"

Last words, a final statement, a final opinion on anything and everything, "I've said a lot in my life, there isn't really anything left that NEEDS to be said."

Unfortunately, that sets him off. He gasps, comes down, and puts his arms around me. "I'm going to miss you grandpa."

It's all I could do to put my hand on his back and pat it lightly. I close my eyes and take a deep, long, and painful breath. So this is a peaceful death, peaceful, easy. Easier than falling asleep, and god am I tired. So, damn, tired…

I'm on my back again, but there's no pain. I take a breath, no pain. I open my eyes. Looking up I see a starry night sky. The air is cold, and rich in the smell of grass. I raise the silhouette of my arm in front of my face, with little effort. All my pain, all my burden, gone… I can't help but smile and start laughing. I laugh, and laugh, and laugh some more. I laugh at all my previous hardships. I laugh at all I have done. I laugh at all the repentance I have done BECAUSE of what I've done.

I made it. I'm on the other side. Despite it all, I can't bring myself to sit up. I could lie like this forever. Just basking in all the relief I have been given. I close my eyes again. The smile on my face couldn't be broken with a hammer. I don't know how long I lay there before I open my eyes again. But when I do, my gaze is met with the figure of a small girl, her silvery hair flowing in the wind. It couldn't be…could it?

"Seii?" My voice, it comes out easily, like water. But, why is it so different? Besides the absence of rasping and coughing, my voice sounds…young? The girl shudders and turns to look at me. The softly featured face, the small stature, it's all so familiar. But, those eyes, those eyes aren't Seii's. Those yellow eyes, whose are they? Taking note of her ethnicity and apparent…Is that a school uniform? I try to make verbal contact,

"Anataha dare desu ka?" She tilts her head. "Excuse me?"

What a wonderfully soft voice. This girl is obviously Japanese, but she speaks English, and with no accent. I pick myself up into a sitting position. It was instantaneous, again, without pain. I cross my legs and turn my body. This is so blissful, it's almost unnatural. I look at her in the face, and let the words flow out.

"Who are you?" The girl starts walking towards me. She doesn't move her arms when doing so. She puts one out in an offering way. I take it, and we pull me up. My center of gravity appears to be very fragile at the moment because I overshoot myself and fall to my hands and knees. She walks in front of me, and offers again. I put my hand up in a dismissive manner. I pick myself up this time, careful not to lose balance again. 'The infant takes its first steps', dammit, this is annoying. I stand up, take a step, then another, and then another. I do an about face, and look at my peer.

"Now again, who are you?" Standing up, this girl is much shorter than me, almost that of the size of a child. Definitely not my Seii,

"I am the student council President." Student council- what now? I take a moment to observe my surroundings. I'm in a grassy field, the grass is stained with chalk, and both sides of the field, there are goal posts.

"A Soccer field?"

The girl puts herself in my peripheral vision. "Yes, this is the soccer field,"

She points to her right, my left, "And that, is the school."

School, what school? I look to my left, and am presented a giant building off in the distance.

"Follow me." She starts walking; I was already a mild distance from her, so I try to shorten it by jogging. I trip after the first step, but pick myself up, and start a pattern of movements, one leg after another. I feel so light, like I could lift off at any moment. I am able to make up the distance between us, and stopping is somewhat problematic as I bump into her. "Oops, I'm sorry!"

She glances at me over her shoulder before continuing. I open my mouth to ask question, but it seems she already answered them. Where am I? I'm at a school. Who is this girl? She is the student council president, apparently.

"Why am I here?" is what I decide to ask. "You are here for the same reason everyone else comes here, to learn something about yourself. Only then can you pass on."

Pass on, learn something about myself, dammit, I'm not where I think I am, am I? "So, when you say you're the student council president-"

"It's exactly as I said it."

"I see…it's not a pseudonym for anything?" We make our way into an opening, concrete and tiles make up the ground.

"It is my duty to watch over the students as they learn and interact throughout this school." School, there is that word again.

"But WHY am I here? What is there for me to learn?"

We stop, she turns, and looks my in the eyes. "Only you can answer that question."

She's dancing around my questions like it's some kind of game.

"Okay then, what would you call this place?" "I would call it school."

"This plain of existence then?" She pauses for a moment, her eyes are vacant, and she appears lost in thought.

"I would call this the afterlife." No…why? I can feel my knees buckle, and they strike the ground.

Pain…I'm in purgatory.

In the light of an overhead lamppost, I examine my hands. Gone are the protruding veins that served as a reminder of my age. No unnecessary wrinkles, few scars. I'm younger, but I'm still me.

'It is my duty to watch over the students as they learn and interact throughout this school.'

She's an overseer, and in the setting of a school, that is sometimes the duty of the Student Body Council. She walks up to me.

"You are shocked?" I stand up, stagger, and compose myself.

"I am," the tension in my voice earns me a pat on the shoulder.

"What can you tell me to guide me?" If she's an overseer, then she must know SOMETHING of the learning process.

"Dwell upon your past. Decide whether there is something you can fix about yourself. Be happy, be productive, and be obedient." "Be obedient towards what?" "The rules enforced within the school."

A bell rings off in the distance. "We are currently breaking a major rule." She starts walking, "Follow me."

I obey. She takes me through the cluster of buildings to one labeled 'Boys Dormitory', I take note that it is written in English. "Your room number is one-fourteen." She starts to walk off. "Wait!" She stops, "Do you have a name?" Silence…, "Tachibana," "First name?" Silence…, "Kanade" She walks off, leaving me to stew in my own grief. Can I call this grief? I'm in purgatory, but at least this isn't Hell. Or, at least that's what I assume this is. Kanade only said afterlife. 'Disappointment', I guess is what I'd call it.

I enter the dormitory building. The signs guide me as I walk up the stairs and down the hallway to a room labeled 'One-fourteen' I open the door. It's unlocked. I enter the room, and stick my hands out to the sides, looking for a light switch of some sort. After finding my target and turning on the lights, I am presented with a boy who appears to be in his teens. The most notable features I'd point out are the obnoxiously purple hair color, and the realistic looking weapon propped up against the wall.

"You must be the new kid." Kid he says? Oh right, "I guess I am." He smiles. "Good, I have a proposition for you."


	2. Chapter 2: Initial Confrontation

A bright whiteness surrounds my vision. In front of me, I barely make out the figure of a woman, her large bird like wings protruding from either side of her body, her white hair flowing in non-existent wind. I reach out my hand to touch her, and the whiteness is destroyed by an all-consuming blackness. I can feel my consciousness return itself to me. Opening my eyes, I see that I have my arm outstretched in front of me. I haven't had that dream in years. "Seii…" I close my eyes again, only to be slapped in the face by that idiot Noda. "Who the hell is Seii?" I sit myself up from my bed. "None of your damn business, kid." I turn my gaze towards the child. He is resting his halberd on his shoulder. With a tone of anger to match the look on his face, he says, "Who are you calling kid?" I really don't feel like going into a verbal debate with him today. I grab some clothes and other toiletries from a drawer and make my way towards the showers until I get stuck in the back by him, "Have you made up your damn mind yet?" Without looking back, I reply, "I told you people that I want nothing to do with your little club-" "Yurippe gave you a week to decide," He's ignoring me, "Times up asshole. Are you going to join or not?" I raise my middle finger in acknowledgment to his question. That's the only answer he deserves. I hear some clacking that sounds like he's readying his weapon, as if to intimidate me, "Don't FUCK with me!" As I head out the door, a large throng of children who are already making their way to and from their respective destinations meet my gaze. I can hear my roommate calling out to me as I lose his tail in the crowd. It's been a week since I found myself in that grassy soccer field. I'd say I've completely taken in my current situation, but that doesn't make me any less angry about it. Purgatory, no matter how much these people would like to dress it up with fancy titles like 'A gateway' or 'the afterlife'; I still consider it that special place between heaven and hell. Everyone here is either completely oblivious to this fact, or too scared to accept it. And that Yurippe girl, well, I'd say she is the most scared out of any of them. She amassed a collective of misfits to fight an unspecified enemy. They say that silver haired girl Kanade is who they fight, but it's all based on speculation. 'Ignorance is the fall of man.' At least, it would be, if anyone here could die. I think back to that moment.

That Noda kid drags me by the sleeve to the principal's office at eleven at night. He spits out a collective of words that escape me, I wasn't really paying much attention at the time. When the door opened, another child with obnoxiously colored hair was there to greet me, a girl, again in their teens. Before I could get a word out, she starts spouting out her view on our situation. She talks of God as an enemy, and of how Kanade is some emissary to him. "In short, I would like to formally invite you to join the SSS brigade!" For some reason, I feel like one of those letters should be switched with an 'O'. "Is dying my hair some absurd color part of the sign on agreement?" I say in a joking tone of voice. "Of course not, just you, your abilities, and your will to fight is necessary." I give her a look of opposition and menace, "And what if I don't WANT to fight my god?" She pulls a pistol, seemingly from the ether, and points it at me. "I can be VERRY persuasive." I don't know how it happened; I don't know how I was able to do it. I was still getting used to my body at the time. I sidestepped the girl, placed my hand on her wrist, and brought my other hand to her elbow, breaking it at the joint. She lets out a terrible, terrible scream. And before I knew it, I was being aimed at by several other students that were sitting around the room. But in a surge of adrenaline, I catch the weapon that fell out of the screaming girls hand, twist her around to use as a shield, and start picking of my assailants one by one. Occasionally, they were able to let out a shriek before hitting the ground. With the pistol empty, I throw the girl to the side, and run for one of the many other pistols that fell. As I pick the nearest on up, it gets struck out of my hand by a girl with long, dark hair, her scarf masking the greater portion of her face. She came out of nowhere. She backs up to pull out a short blade. She just stands there. She keeps standing there. I hear a noise right behind me, and sidestep to my left. That purple haired boy was attempting to stab me in the back with his halberd. I grab it by the shaft and pull. He gets pulled in front of me as the dark haired girl attempts to strike. Her blade catches him in the shoulder, as apparent by the protruding and bloody metal. His screams and the pain loosen his grip on the weapon he was holding. I twirl it to face the dark haired girl. A second blade was produced in the commotion. I keep her at distance with the halberd. I look into her eyes, just daring her to attack. "Shiina, stand down." The girl to initially brandish a weapon in front of me is on her knees. She is clutching her broken arm, tears falling down her face. "Yuri, I can take him-" "Stand down Shiina!" The dark haired girl backs up, and lowers her knives. "Hey you." Says the girl named Yuri. "Do you have a name?" I look at her at the edge of my peripheral vision, careful not to take my eyes off the girl named Shiina. "You can call me DeSantos." "No first name?" I back up, and set the halberd upright to my side. "You aren't someone I'd call a friend." I look to my side to face Yuri. She is looking down. "DeSantos, we need someone like you." Says Yuri, "By 'we', you surely don't mean you, Shiina, and the boy lying in a puddle of his own blood on the floor?" I take a glance at him; he's gasping in pain on the other side of the room. "More than them," says Yuri, "Everyone in our brigade could use another body." She stands up, still clutching her broken arm. "And considering you just took out the entirety of my personal ensemble. I'd say you are very valuable." I keep looking at her, and keep silent. "I know what it's like, being thrust into a situation like this. With no information to go on," I wasn't exactly given absolutely no information whatsoever, but I keep this statement to myself. "You're trying to be sympathetic. It's not going to work." She looks at me now, "At least give it some thought. Can you please get back to me in a week?" I start backing out of the door. "You're crazy." I am about to run out the door, but I get interrupted by a shout, "PLEASE! Just think about it!" The pleading in her voice is all too apparent. I took one last look at the girl as she collapses to the ground. And then I run out the door, leaving the weapon I was holding behind.

That night, I slept on the ground by the soccer field. And the next day, everyone I thought I had taken out had been revived. No scratches or scars. And no actions towards me besides the occasional dirty look. I attempted to exit the school several times. Each time I find myself compelled to turn back. No matter how hard I fought the compulsion, I'd always turn back. On the third day of trying, I just gave up. I even returned to the dormitory that had been assigned to me. I eventually learned the name of the child I was paired with. His name was Noda. At first I thought he was just being a dick to me as payback for his previous injuries. But if Gossip is to be believed, he's an asshole to just about everyone. Even though it was 'required' that I 'attend class' I never actually went. I'd spend all my time in the dorms, using the computer that seemed to never have been used before me. This world was primitive as well. Everything said it was the year two-thousand-ten. It's like I was sent back in time. In two-thousand-ten, I was fourteen.

A week had passed since I found myself in that Grassy soccer field. Today, I find myself standing on top of the boy's dormitory, looking out over the school. This whole thing feels like a prison sentence. Actually, I think that's EXACTLY what it is. I'm supposed to fix something about myself. I would have thought that my life would be very pleasant in comparison to most others. I knew who I was, and what I stood for.

My contemplation is interrupted by the sound of the door behind me opening. I turn to look at who it might be, two large boys, one burly, and one with a full face of hair. "You must be DeSantos?" Says the burly one, "Yeah, I am." They both smile, and the one with the facial hair says, "Do you have an answer for us?"


	3. Chapter 3: Journey to the center of

The wind blows my hair into my face, causing me to stutter on my next words. "A-an answer? You still expect an answer?" I say, carefully leveling the poison in my words. It is at that moment that I start to realize how cold it has gotten. Mild aches start to spread across my legs. Ah, the nostalgic feeling of growing pains. Somehow, it is more comforting than unpleasant. The hairy boy steps forward. "We have given you more than enough time to-" "PLEASE, don't, raise your voice. Please." I ask. "I've already had an earful from that Noda boy. Try and come up with a different approach, if you can." The larger boy puts his hand on the other's shoulder. "Yurippe really wants this guy. And haven't you heard what the others have said? It's best we don't aggravate him." The hairy boy steps back and the large boy steps forward. "I'm sorry for my friend's excitement. Mr. DeSantos, we really want you in our group. We're willing to do anything to persuade you." Oh what foolish youth they are. "Anything?" I ask. The hairy boy stands tall, puts his hands behind his back, and points his eyes forward. If I didn't know any better, I'd say this boy was an enlisted man. "What do you need from us?" he asks. I chuckle and respond, "Do a little dance for me." "WHY THE HELL SHOULD WE DO THAT?" asks the hairy boy. I laugh long and hard at this response. "You said you'd do anything. Did you not know how broad a term 'anything' is?" The boy looks as if he were gearing up for a long winded monologue before the large boy puts his hand in front of him, shutting him up. The large boy then proceeds to grab the other's hand, essentially making him the female of the two. They start to step and turn in a waltz, the hairy boy not surprisingly acting reluctant. The fact that they are both huge just adds to the overall comic effect. A fact I make apparent with my ever booming laughter. When I finally look up from my laughter, the boy's have stopped dancing, the hairy boy's eyes squirming in apparent act of barely contained rage. I walk up to them and pat them on the shoulder. "That was amusing, I thank you." I start walking past them towards the door, but it's rather quiet. I turn around and see that the two boys are staying still and looking at me leaving through the door. "Well," I ask, "What's keeping us?"

We made our way through the school and into a gymnasium. I find it odd that no one noticed three rather large students walking the school grounds during classes. We walk up to the stage. Both take spots on either side. They pull, revealing a mass of chairs. I expected there to be nothing more than a blank wall behind it all, but… I step back to look at the gapping black hole. The boys pull out flashlights and hand another one to me. The path is similar to old mining tunnels from the 1880's western America's. Old lanterns, rotting wooden support beams, and even the faint smell of a gas line. "What made you guys think this was a safe place to put a hideaway? And how have you not been found out yet? I highly doubt the faculty hasn't noticed a tunnel through their school." The larger bay hangs back, allowing himself to meet with me. "That's an easy one. We always, that is we the brigade, volunteer to set up the auditorium. And about the tunnel…well it makes due for now." "Yeah, and that fact we can't die allows you to forget about such petty things as 'danger' correct?" "More or less. I mean, no doubt we'll need to make arrangements for a better pathway, but this one is the most convenient. There are several others out in the field that are either too complex compared to this one, or are completely uncharted." The hairy boy steps back to greet us. "You should have seen it when we first got here." He speaks as if… "What happened?" I ask. "Oh, not much. Just a bloodbath." "Bloodbath?" "Yeah, several of us, me, Yurippe, and a two other jerkoffs all came down here what seems like years ago." Years…how long will I be here? "I had a little incident with that Angel girl, so Yurippe sought me out, hoping to ask how I'd brought a gun to this world." "Yeah, about that, how do you guys get firearms?" The boy stops, gives his flashlight to the bigger boy, and proceeds to collect some dirt from a nearby wall. He grips it in both hands like he were holding a bat, and pulls it apart as if it were stuck together. A glint of silver appears between his two clenched fists. The blade of a katana. He throws it to me and I inspect it. I put it up to the light of my flashlight, and a few specs of iridescence and small hairline grooves become visible. "And you're all able to do this?" I ask "Well, we all have our experience to go against. It takes a newer person longer to craft a nail in comparison to what I just did." I then stick the blade into one of the wall and kick it on the side. It breaks cleanly in two. "What a piece of crap." I proclaim. "I'd love to know how your weapons haven't blown up in your hands yet." "We don't know, but about several years ago, like I said, me Yurippe, and two other jerkoffs came down here. Eventually we found Noda. He was spouting some crap about video games. Then he says that there is a 'boss' character going around the tunnels and that we needed to be careful. He was right. A ninja girl who called herself C-7 was here tearing apart anyone she saw." C-7? Shii-nana…Shiina. "Yurippe seemed to like the way of thinking Noda had about our situation, so now we consider this world a computer program." "Really now, does the title 'The Matrix' mean anything to you guys?" I ask. "About ten yen, why?" says the large boy. I wave my hand to dismiss the question.

The tunnel seems to stretch on for ages. I don't have a watch, but if I were to guess, I'd say we've been down here a good two hours. All we've seen were tunnels, tunnels, and more tunnels. We made a 'detour' to 'avoid some traps' but I wonder why that would matter if we can't die. For that matter, why must pain still exist? Pain is a neurological function used to protect the body…but we can't die. Perhaps whoever made this program wanted it to be as familiar as possible. It still seems rather mundane and, well, stupid. If I were to make something like this, I'd take out the pain aspect of human chemistry. But pain could still have its uses, even in the afterlife. Whoever started this is one cruel son of a bitch.

We end our journey at a large metal door. Both boys pull out keys and open it up to a large room with several people in it. All of them seem to have on blacksmithing uniforms. Several large smelter looking constructions are set within the walls. Workbenches are set up in rows throughout. All of them are putting together firearms of every kind you can imagine. Pistols seem to be popular. But there are also assault rifles, shotguns, sniper rifles, hell one looks like a rocket propelled grenade armament. "Welcome to The Guild." Says the two boys. "So, are you ready to get to work?" asks the larger boy. "Work?" I ask, "I still haven't decided if I'd join or not."


	4. Chapter 4: Irritating eventualities

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU HAVEN'T DECIDED?" yells an all too familiar voice behind me.

Noda seems to have had followed us into these tunnels. Rather annoying, but whatever. I'm starting to get the feeling, actually, that he may have some sick obsession with me. Though, judging by the picture of Yurippe he looks at every night, I think he may want to have his revenge on me for breaking her arm.

"Well, I was just trying to see exactly how gullible you people are. Judging by the way you happily invited me into, what I assume to be, a secretly kept base under the school, without my word of compliance I might add, I'd say my test brought results."

"YOU WERE DICKING US AROUND?" asks the bearded child who escorted me.

"No, I was testing to see just how protected this place was. I didn't have to lift much of a finger to make my way into here. I'm not so sure this farce of yours will prosper well with this level of incompetence."

"You're not leaving here in one piece." Says a voice I hadn't heard since our last…'encounter'

I turn my attention to the Yurippe girl, who had apparently been sitting on a throne in the darker part of the room. She sits there, legs crossed, shotgun pointed at me. In suit, several of the workers pulled up their projects, all pointing at me.

"I don't appreciate wild cards, Mr. DeSantos. This was as much of a trap as it was an offer of cooperation. You WILL comply."

"And if I refuse?" I ask, keeping my gaze on her.

"Have you ever been taken prisoner? I doubt it's much fun. Yet, in a world where nobody dies, could you imagine the potential for cruelty? You may die of starvation, but you'll come back. We may rip all of your arms and legs off, but you'll come back. We may rip off all of your skin, slather you in honey, and leave you to the bugs, but you'll still die and come back…eventually."

"Wow, you're good at the matriarchal bitch thing, aren't you? I still refuse."

Now, I'd like this moment to ask you. Have you ever been penetrated by thousands of bullet sized projectiles? No, of course you hadn't. So there is no way you could have imagined the pain I was in as I was fired upon by all my adversaries. The worst part? After they were done, I was still semi-conscious.

Yurippe walks over my bloody body. She smiles. Then she points her shotgun at my face, and pulls the trigger.

It was painful.

I think I can safely say I am, if not the only one, one of the extremely few people to have experienced both a peaceful and painful death.

I open my eyes, and am greeted by the sight of darkness.

I can feel that my arms are chained up. I can tell it's been a while because my arms are still numb. I can also feel that they were kind enough to give me a change of clothing. Hey, at least there's that.

I try to make out something, anything, of my surroundings. If my mind isn't playing tricks on me, someone is sitting, well, sleeping on a chair in front of me. It's that Noda child again; I recognize that halberd leaned up against him.

"Hey, Noda." I say. Still, he rests.

"Noda! …NODA, YOU IDIOT! WAKE THE HELL UP!"

"WHO YOU CALLIN' AN IDIOT?" he says, getting up from his chair and brandishing his weapon…several feet to my left. Now that I think about it, why are there no lamps, or hell, torches to light things up?

"You mind getting me out of these chains?"

"And why would I do that?"

"So I can kick your ass, that's why."

"Whose ass is getting kicked?" he responds, then pokes at the dirt wall in front of him with his weapon.

"Nobody's has to be if you just let me out of here peacefully."

"You think I'm stupid, don't you? Wel-"

"Quite stupid, actually. You yell and scream a lot, plus you're arrogant. In my experience, the loud and arrogant ones are typically dumber than the rest."

He lunges his weapon in to the dirt with an audible grunt…several times before stopping.

"That was painful. To watch, I mean."

He reels back his halberd, then starts turning in place, searching for the source of my voice, no doubt.

"Try behind you." I say.

He faces away from me, and thrust his weapon into his chair. This kid is truly stupid. I couldn't contain my laughter. It seems this was enough to alert him to where I was located, his jab barely missing my torso.

"You almost had me that time. Now, maybe you can get me out of these chains?"

He brings his face in towards me, attempting to look me in the eyes. He reeks of sweat and dirt. I wonder how long we've been down here. Do the guards change shifts?

All that aside, how can I get this idiot to let me free?

"Are you, by any chance, in love with Yurippe?"

He backs away from my face. "What do you care?"

"Hey, I'm not judging your choice. She's pretty nice looking, I guess. I mean, that Angel girl is much better looking, if you ask me, but I guess Yurippe could get third place in that contest."

"Stop talking about her like that!"

"Or what, you'll kill me?"

"Maybe I will. Just for laughs."

"Oh, c'mon. That can't be enough, can it? Sure, you could kill me, but anyone could kill a chained up prisoner easily. If you beat me in a fair fight, maybe that Yurippe girl will be impressed. Maybe she'll 'reward' you."

Silence…

"You think so?"

Jackpot.

"Oh, hell yeah. Imagine it; you being the guy that beats the guy who decimated a good number of her crew in less than a minute. Anybody would be impressed. You could become her right hand man. Maybe better. But you'll never know until we fight each other."

"But, won't everyone think down upon how I let you free?"

"No one has to know. You could say that I escaped. That it was just you against me."

Silence…

The sound of his halberd being stuck into the ground: that was mistake number one. The cuffs on my wrists begin to come off: that was mistake number two. As soon as I am able to pick myself up and stand on my two feet, I take a moment to let me arms wake up.

Noda being stuck into the wall with his halberd, as I start to walk away: That was mistake number three.

"Christ, you're an idiot, Noda." I say over the sounds of his screams.

I notice the faint noise of footprints. I take this as my queue to hide behind a conveniently placed stack of munitions crates.

A single figure runs past me to check up on the screams. I follow behind them, my light footsteps masked by Noda's screaming. When we get to Noda, the figure begins pull out a pistol from their side.

I pull the halberd out of Noda and slice into them. The let go of their gun and I catch it midair.

As I begin to take a nice look at my new toy, a hand begins to creep its way up my leg.

At a closer glance, it's the bearded boy from before. His face straining from the pain he is no doubt in.

I kneel down to look at him in the eyes. "I never got your name." I say.

He looks at me like he wishes he could kill me. "Chaa." He says.

"Nice to meet you, Chaa." I say, right before I pistol whip him in the back of the neck.

After I loot his body for extra clips and a freaking BUTTERFLY-KNIFE, I get up to walk away. As I do, I recount the story he told me on our way down here.

Carnage, eh? I'll show you a carnage.

I shoot the still and rasping Noda to silence him.


	5. Chapter 5: Shine the Light

Now, I'm sure you were expecting me to go through an entire underground tunnel, killing…"Killing" everyone I saw until I made it to the surface. But, surprisingly, I didn't see a single damn person.

Mostly, I was lost. I don't know how long for. I tried to do that crafting thing mentioned by Chaa to maybe make a watch. But all I was able to make were carapaces resembling a watch.

I eventually decided to just start excavating with my bare hands. The knife I had found proved useful in this endeavor. Though I did start to wish I had taken that Noda child's weapon for use as a makeshift shovel.

I kept digging. I kept going up, hoping to break surface. Not knowing how long or how far ahead I was into this, I could feel myself going slightly mad.

"Now if I could just get past this bit of clay, I'd probably be able to feel like I'm making any kind of progress. Not that that matters, I guess. Blah, blah, blah, I'll get there when I get there."

"And what the fuck is with me talking to myself now? Am I so mind numbingly bored that any amount of change in the monotony would satisfy? …Don't answer that."

"It's not like I have much to look forward to once I get to the top. What, a legion of pissed off children and a boarding school from which I am unable to escape? Yeah, I have TONS to be excited for."

"Still, I'd like to at least see my hand in front of me…or underground lizard people; now THAT would be awesome." "No-no-no-no-no, stick to reality, stick to reality, stick to reality, stick to reality, stick to reality, st-t-t-iiiiick to re-al-it-ty." "Pff, I've got about five pounds for you to stick yourself to." "Hey FUCK YOU man! I ain't gotta listen to this shit!" "Well, then shut up, you're the only one speaking here." "Aw, but I was having fun! We haven't bonded like this in ages!" "Bond? Dude, we're a single consciousness, we couldn't bond more if we wanted to." "Well, in this moment, we are going certifiably insane, no? In a sense, we could consider our psyche split, and two consciousnesses are communing." "Well, no. to say we are insane would be based on the impression taken from an outside source. If you break down the word as In-sane and you examine the 'sane' part, you'd realize that sanity is a concept based around a pre conceived notion of normality. When only one of us is here, there is no set example. Another example of needing a set example of normality in the argument of sanity would be like how slurping your ramen would be considered rude in America, but flattering in Japan."

"FUCK, that thought pattern went nowhere fast. A little music would be nice so I don't start talking to myself…singing… nope, not doing it."

Daytime, The top of Fourth period: Kanade Tachibana

I look at the wall mounted clock to catch my bearings of the time.

The period is nigh over with.

I start collecting my papers and put them into my bag, and with the sound of the bell I head to my dorm room to put together my afternoon class bag.

The typical looks delivered by Ms. Nakamura and company follow me out the door.

I do hope they don't plan too much mischief.

Opening the lock, I feel the extra force I am needed to put into turning the key present whenever an attempt at breaking in has occurred. As with all these instances, my desktop is the first thing I inspect.

My tower appears to be turned on, so I press the power button for my monitor. A file on the new soul, DeSantos, is the first thing I am presented with. Odd…only his surname is preasant.

Interesting.

It has been a while since I had glimpsed him. By all records, we should have five lessons together spread throughout the week. Yet, the last and only of our encounters had taken place on the night he arrived.

…

I should perhaps take some time to explore this topic.

5:00PM The Boys Dorm

I knock on the door of the dorm room belonging to DeSantos and the Noda boy. An audible rustle is followed by the cry of "Coming."

"'The hell do y- AH!"

Interesting. He seems to have been startled by something, as evident by his backing up to the window on the other side of the room.

As I walk up to him, he starts pressing himself even harder against the glass. If he is not careful, he may break it and fall out. That would be most unfortunate.

"I'd like to ask you about Mr. DeSantos"

"Why should I tell you anything?"

"Why should you? …I am only asking out of curiosity. You are roommates with him, are you not?"

"What's it matter to you?"

"As the Student Council President, it is my duty to keep the wellbeing of every student in check. It has recently come to my notice that Mr. DeSantos has not been attending his classes for an extended amount of time."

"Yeah, right." He begins to move against the wall, even standing on one of the beds to continue. "Then for the sake of my wellbeing, I'd like to request that that asshole be taken out of my room."

"I…I see. I will see to it that your request is made aware to the right people."

He continues moving, getting closer to the door. "And about the possible whereabouts of Mr. DeSantos?"

"If you're that desperate to find him, you're gonna need a shovel and radar or something."

That was the last thing he says before running out the door.

A shovel and…radar? Hmm…interesting

9:30PM Campus Grounds

I find it mildly vexing to break curfew, but, if the Noda boy is telling the truth…

Perhaps this makes it a good time to flex my programing abilities.

I close my eyes.

"_Guard skill: Seeker"_

Opening my eyes, thousands of lights, all ranging in sizes from miniscule to grand, appear before me.

Interesting. Perhaps thinking of a subject beforehand would help, which should be easy. The DeSantos boy has a distinct face.

Droopy eyes, shoulder length black hair parted to the left, imposing stature, light tan skin, ever present scowl.

Opening my eyes, I begin to search.

Up, down, all around…Perhaps I should change my position?

9:45PM Soccer Field

10:00PM Behind School Gym

11:00PM Behind Auditorium

Looking down, once again, I search.

At last, I see something.

A ball of light, about the size of a basketball, underground.

"_Guard Skill: Hand Sonic v17" _Large, fan-like blade with curves shoot out from my arms.

After making sure my Overdrive skill is in effect, I begin to dig.

DeSantos

"_~And you're not gonna take what they've got to give_

_And you're not gonna let 'em take your will to live_

_Because they've taken enough, and you've giiiven them aaall you can give_

_And luck won't save them tonight_

_They've given you reason to fight~"_

Who'd've thought singing would help me stay sane? I'm still extremely bored, but at least I have cohesion, right? Right, sanity's overrated.

Looking up, I start seeing beams of light piercing the dirt.

FINALY!

And so I escape the darkness, by finding the light.

Beautiful.

A bright whiteness surrounds my vision. In front of me, I barely make out the figure of a woman, her large bird like wings protruding from either side of her body, her white hair flowing in non-existent wind. I reach out my hand to touch her

She extends a glowing hand, to which I am more than happy to take.

"Seii!" I cry, as I embrace this girl.

"S-Seii?"

No…that voice is not Seii's. This voice is too fragile to be Seii's.

I look into her eyes. Absent are the beautiful sapphire blue eyes I had expected. In its place are distant gold. The wings I thought I had seen are not there anymore. Was it a delusion?

12AM Kanade Tachibana's dorm

Kanade

I lead Mr. DeSantos by the hand into my room. He seems like a quiet one, though perhaps I am not one to pass judgment on that matter. Even still, one is not born silent. I wonder what has silenced this boy's voice to the world.

He begins to look around, a quizzical expression on his face. No doubt he questions being taken to a female's dormitory.

"I was given a request to relocate you from your current residency. So for the time being, I welcome you to my living quarters. The bathroom's the door on your left. Perhaps you should wash away the dirt you have collected?"

He snaps his gaze in my direction, his quizzical expression growing in magnitude. I pick up a pile of clothing I had retrieved from his previous home and hand it to him. He appears hesitant to take them, though eventually he casts his reluctance aside and enters the restroom.

12:30AM

DeSantos

As I lay my head against the wall adjacent to Kanade's, I can't help but stare at her. In the dark, you couldn't tell what size she was, or what color her eyes were. I feel like I am sleeping next to Seii again.

"You're staring at me." She says.

"You remind me of someone I knew. Is that your natural hair color?"

She begins stroking her hair. "As far as I know, yes. Why do you ask?"

"It's just that you don't see many young people with natural white hair. I only ever met one other."

"Is it the Seii girl you mentioned?"

"Y-yeah. You remind me of her, superficially, at least."

"…Perhaps one day you will find her again. Everyone must graduate from this world. When you do, I'm sure you'll see her again. But for now, we need to rest. I'll need to wake you before everyone else notices you. A situation like this being found out would be most…unfortunate."

"…"

As I close my eyes, I swear a flash of light came up, and Kanade changed into Seii, if only for half a second.


End file.
